HAIL TO THE CHIEFS

Monday, February 19^th,  we celebrate President’s Day. It is a time to reflect on the achievements of all our presidents and, in particular, say happy birthday to George Washington (February 22^nd) and Abraham Lincoln (February 12^th ).  Many focus on the economic influence of this three-day weekend - a time of special deals and sales, especially on cars. While I can’t tell you which car to purchase, I can offer some erudition learned from the 45 men who have attained the highest office.

Whatever you think about our current or past presidents, there is no refuting it is a difficult post to obtain. The legal requirements are outlined in Section 1 of Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution:

“No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.”

Hence, if you are 35 or older, were born in America and have lived here for at least 14 years, you’re eligible to run for office. If you want to win, however, you may consider these political statistics and pointers.

Consider a law degree. Twenty-six of the last forty-five have been lawyers.

Start raising money - a lot of money! “Obama for America” the fundraising phenomena that powered Obama’s ascent to the presidency raised 650 million by Election Day. This enabled him to out advertise and out-staff the McCain campaign by about 2 to 1. Although Clinton raised more money, 1.4 billion to Trumps 957 million, he was still able to secure the presidency.

Get strategic. Popularity is not enough. You’ll need to win the majority of Electoral College votes, not the popular vote. There are 538 electoral votes, and you need 270 of them to become president. Since the official election on November 8^th, Trump has won 61,900,651 popular votes. However, 63,620,704 Americans voted for Hilary.

Join the military. A whopping 36 of our 45 presidents have served. Donald Trump, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton did not. Nor did any president from 1909 (Taft) to 1945 (Roosevelt). Roosevelt was, however, very much involved in World War I. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy in France. And, he was our president during most of World War II. John Quincy Adams did not serve but certainly saw first-hand the horrors of the Revolutionary War. At the tender age of eight, he and his mother Abigail Adams witnessed the Battle of Bunker Hill. Years late he wrote,

“-- I saw with my own eyes those fires, and heard Britannia's thunders in the Battle of Bunker's hill and witnessed the tears of my mother and mingled with them my own, at the fall of Warren a dear friend of my father, and a beloved Physician to me.”

His father, John Adams, was the chairman of the Continental Congress Board of War from 1776 to 1777 and our second president from 1797 to 1801.

Needless to say, Commander-in-Chief is no job for the weak. You will need heart, brains, and a very big pocketbook to become president. Once elected, you will need all three of these assets and much more to navigate the colossal task of running the country.